Hart's ninth-inning homer caps Brewers' sweep of Pirates

Baseball Betting Lines

07/11/2010 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Corey Hart capped his All-Star first half with a game-winning, two-run homer in the ninth, lifting the Brewers to a 6-5 win over the Pirates in the finale of a three-game series.

After Andrew McCutchen's sacrifice fly scored Ronny Cedeno to give Pittsburgh a 5-4 lead in the top of the ninth, Jim Edmonds led off the bottom half with a ground-rule double off Octavio Dotel (2-2).

Two batters later, Hart crushed a 1-0 slider over the wall in left for his 21st home run of the season, finishing off a sweep that featured three one-run victories for the hosts.

"It's nice to come back and sweep and go into the break with some momentum," Hart said. "I've had some success against Dotel in the past, and that helped me. I just wanted to get a chance to do something after going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. It's always nice to get one more at-bat."

Ryan Braun went 2-for-3 with a home run and two runs scored for Milwaukee, which had lost five straight entering the series and sits at 40-49 entering the break.

Lastings Milledge went 2-for-3 with a solo homer for Pittsburgh (30-58), which enters the break on a six-game skid thanks to Dotel's second blown save in the set and fifth of the season.

"I can't really explain what's going on, but you don't see any guys with their heads down," Pirates manager John Russell said of his club. "They're strong mentally. We're looking forward to the second half."

Neither starter factored in the decision. Milwaukee's Randy Wolf gave up four runs on seven hits and three walks in six frames, while Brad Lincoln allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks over six-plus innings for Pittsburgh.

John Axford (5-1) was credited with the win despite giving up the go-ahead run in the ninth, as Cedeno reached on a bunt, moved to third on Delwyn Young's pinch-hit single and scored on McCutchen's fly to right.

The Pirates pushed across three runs in the second. Milledge got the scoring started with his second homer in the series, while Ryan Doumit and Cedeno scored on Lincoln's single and McCutchen's sac fly, respectively.

The Brewers played small ball to get on the board in the third, as Alcides Escobar doubled, moved up on a bunt and raced home on Rickie Weeks' sac fly.

Homers by Braun and George Kottaras the next frame tied things, but Pedro Alvarez took Wolf deep over the center-field wall in the sixth to make it 4-3.

Milwaukee tied it in the eighth when Carlos Gomez brought in Braun with a two- out single to right off Joel Hanrahan.

Game Notes

Braun had two hits in each game this series after coming in mired in an 0- for-19 slump...Wolf came in 8-2 with a 3.42 earned run average in his career against the Pirates...The Brewers swept the Pirates from April 20-22 earlier this season, lead the season series, 8-3...Cedeno had three hits in the loss...It was Hart's second career walk-off home run...Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder tied a club record with 274 consecutive games played.

Lotteruamerica Baseball Betting News

<< Creamer wins 1st major at U.S. Women's Open
Oakmont, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paula Creamer poured in back-to-back birdies from the 14th hole in Sunday's final round and coasted from there to win the U.S. Women's Open. Creamer earned her ninth LPGA Tour title and first major championship

<< Dillon claims first truck win at Iowa
Newton, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Austin Dillon became a first time winner in the Camping World Truck Series by taking Sunday's Lucas Oil 200 at Iowa Speedway. Dillon, the grandson of NASCAR multi-team owner Richard Childress, put

<< Bartlett's hit in 10th lifts Rays over Tribe
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Bartlett drove in the game-winner in the 10th inning as the Tampa Bay Rays took a 6-5 win over the Cleveland Indians in the finale of a four-game set. With men on first and second and Kerry Wo

<< Verlander, Weaver, Bailey added as All-Stars
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Baseball has announced three additions to the American League All-Star roster in Detroit's Justin Verlander, Jered Weaver of the Angels and Oakland's Andrew Bailey. The trio of pitc

<< Holliday's blast powers Cardinals over Astros
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Holliday hit a three-run homer, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat Houston, 4-2, in the rubber match of a three-game series at Minute Maid Park. St. Louis starter Blake Hawksworth (3-5) struggled

Jesse Jackson faults Cavs owner's LeBron comments >>
CHICAGO (AP) -The Rev. Jesse Jackson says Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert sees LeBron James as a ``runaway slave'' and that his comments after the forward decided to join the Miami Heat put the player in danger.Shortly after James announced his decision

Report: Vick is travel-restricted >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Vick has reportedly been denied permission to travel by his probation officer. According to a report from Philadelphia TV station NBC 10, which cites Vick's crisis manager, the quarterback ha

Orioles sweep four-game set with Texas >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jake Arrieta threw into the seventh inning to help the Baltimore Orioles complete a four-game sweep of the Texas Rangers with a 4-1 win. Arrieta (3-2) went 6 1/3 innings and was charged with just one run

Germany's 20-year-old Muller wins Golden Boot >>
Johannesburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Germany's 20-year-old midfielder Thomas Muller captured the Golden Boot on Sunday as the top scorer at the FIFA World Cup. Muller was also honored as the Best Young Player in South Africa. Muller

Spain's Casillas wins Golden Glove as top goalie >>
Johannesburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Spain goalie Iker Casillas, who helped his team beat the Netherlands 1-0 in the FIFA World Cup final, won the Golden Glove on Sunday as the tournament's best goalkeeper. Casillas posted five

MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

To visit this sportsbook get to MySportsbook.com for all your online sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.